New NSF Institutes to Strengthen Mathematics as Base for National S&T

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is establishing three new research institutes that are designed to help strengthen the mathematical sciences as the backbone for U.S. scientific and engineering research. The three centers are expected to receive $24 million over five years. A fourth $9 million award renews for six years the operation of an existing mathematical center that integrates education with research.

An award to Ohio State University in Columbus will lead to a Mathematical Biosciences Institute for interdisciplinary work on problems such as neuroscience and cell processes. This institute will develop the quantitative culture within the life sciences by bringing together people from both mathematical and biological backgrounds. Postdoctoral scientists will be jointly mentored by a bioscientist and a mathematical scientist, and seminars and courses will be aimed at a joint audience.

The Statistical and Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute in Research Triangle Park, N.C., will forge ties between the statistical sciences, and applied mathematical sciences and other disciplines to meet data- and model-driven scientific challenges. Initial projects will include large-scale computer models for environmental systems. The consortium is led by Duke University in collaboration with North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the National Institute of Statistical Sciences.

The Research Conference Center of the American Institute of Mathematics (AIM) in Palo Alto, Calif., will host research workshops on fundamental and interdisciplinary mathematical sciences. Collaborations formed there are expected to lead to novel approaches to long-standing scientific challenges and to include underrepresented and junior researchers.

Renewal of an award to the School of Mathematics at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J., will support participation by postdoctoral and mid-career mathematicians. The institute guides junior scientists in their research and conducts yearlong thematic programs led by distinguished senior visiting members. Recent programs have included theoretical computer science and discrete mathematics.

Related News: Number of Math Majors Declining

The latest survey of undergraduate mathematics and statistics programs, released by the American Mathematical Society earlier this month, reveals between 1990-2000 a decline of nearly one-fifth the number of math degrees awarded by four-year colleges. The complete 2000 Statistical Abstract of Undergraduate Programs in Mathematical Sciences in the U.S. is available at: http://www.ams.org/cbms/